(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 10 - # ioleggoperché is upon us with its record edition: 3,410,023 students are involved, 20,388 schools are enrolled (about 35% of Italian schools) and 2,743 bookstores adhering to the great social initiative that brought 1 million 400 thousand new books to Italian school libraries in five years.
The sixth edition - which sees the period of donations from 20 to 28 November 2021 - is carried out with a synergistic teamwork by the Italian Publishers Association (AIE), with the support of the Ministry for Culture - Directorate General Libraries and Copyright and the Center for the Book and the Reading, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and with the patronage of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The collaboration with the Italian Booksellers Association (ALI), the Italian Bookshop and Cartolibrai Syndicate (SIL) and the Italian Library Association (AIB), the support of SIAE - Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, the contribution of Pirelli and the support from Lega Serie A, Lega Serie B, Mediafriends and Rai for Social Affairs.
Today at the ICS Ciresola school in Milan the extraordinary participation in the upcoming edition was announced by Renata Gorgani, vice president of the Various Group of the Italian Publishers Association and member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Book and Reading, in dialogue with Rudy Zerbi, ambassador of the initiative, and Filippo Solibello, journalist of Radio Rai 2. An awaited return in the presence, with the direct involvement of a class of children in a morning in which the Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini, the Minister of Education, wanted to show their closeness to the project Patrizio Bianchi, the Undersecretary for Publishing Giuseppe Moles and the president of the Center for Book and Reading Marino Sinibaldi.
The support of the president of AIERicardo Franco Levi could not be missing: "This year's theme" Starting over from books "is a central message for the historical moment we are living. If we look at the data relating to educational poverty and the need for school libraries to enrich themselves with new volumes, confirmed by the surprising participation of schools in the project, the restart for students can and must be linked to reading and books: a resource for everyone, an ordinary way to build a new future ".
"I congratulate # iolegg for the extraordinary numbers achieved because of how much it has grown and how much it will grow. A constant increase that for once crosses that of the book market - declares the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities and for Tourism, Dario Franceschini -. Reading is an extraordinary way to travel: we have to take it to all homes, to those where reading does not arrive spontaneously, starting from schools to reach all homes, especially in families where one reads little. school libraries: during the pandemic we approved a regulation that allowed us to provide 60 million euros to public reading libraries, as long as the books were bought in local libraries.This means that the patrimony of libraries is enriched and the small libraries of the territory are helped. We have managed to make it structural in the Budget Law. I believe that this operation - and we talked about it with Minister Bianchi - must be accompanied by a similar operation for school libraries: in addition to the extraordinary voluntary help of citizens, there is also a contribution from the State to increase the patrimony of school libraries ".there is also a contribution from the State to increase the patrimony of school libraries ".there is also a contribution from the State to increase the patrimony of school libraries ".
"From 20 to 28 November next - explained Renata Gorgani - in the over 2,700 bookstores that have joined the project, everyone will be able to contribute to change things, by donating a book to a school, choosing a title that they consider inevitable in a school library among those suggested by the institutes or simply according to your preferences.
In the library, each volume donated will be identified with a sticker on which the donor can leave the suadedica forever. It's a simple gesture, but it can make a difference because only those who are surrounded by books will become readers and we want children at school to have libraries where they can choose their favorite reading. "The survey conducted by the AIE Studies Office on 2,600 schools (on a total of 13,000) adhering to the last edition highlighted a significant growth in the impact of # ioleggoperchè on Italian school libraries, particularly in time of Covid-19. The research highlighted the incisive action of the project on the promotion of reading among students since childhood, that theenrichment of school libraries with new books that are more responsive to the languages of the younger generations. At the same time, he highlighted two strong critical points: the failure to allocate funds for the purchase of new books in 2020 for almost 82% of the schools interviewed and the temporary transformation into classrooms of school libraries in 1 out of 5 cases to ensure greater distancing between students (the full survey is available here) "The priceless heritage of our school libraries must continue to be valued and enriched.82% of the schools interviewed and the temporary transformation into classrooms of school libraries in 1 out of 5 cases to ensure greater distancing between students (the full survey is available here) "The inestimable heritage of our school libraries must continue to be valued and enriched.82% of the schools interviewed and the temporary transformation into classrooms of school libraries in 1 out of 5 cases to ensure greater distancing between students (the full survey is available here) "The inestimable heritage of our school libraries must continue to be valued and enriched.
Also this year "# ioleggoperché" has given a very strong impetus to achieve this goal, allowing us to keep alive the places where knowledge, knowledge and words spread thanks to books ", said the Minister of Education Patrizio Bianchi." A library in a school it is like a well of water from which essential resources are drawn to feed the mind. It is an opportunity for all students and students to approach and get involved in reading that opens their gaze to unknown worlds and serves to give answers to the most diverse themes, from science to the deepest sense of being. A library in a school is a presidium of democracy, everyone can access it, without distinction and everyone can enrich themselves.This is why it is important to continue supporting school libraries ". (ANSA).
